Expanded World Class

What killed the World Class was the World Class.
When the PW5 was awarded the World Class against a lot of opposition to the
design the proponents of the PW5 sat back fielding criticism and smugly
snubbed the others even after it was well apparent that few were going to
get on their band wagon.
Others that contended for the bid to be the world class glider and their
followers were shut out and left with no place to compete. There were other
good design entrants (most thought better than the committee picked PW5) and
rumors of unfair politics deciding on the PW5 clouded the class.
How the PW5 was picked over the other designs remains a topic of some
controversy but it was and it failed to gather the interest of the masses
(it really is homely) but there were however many other gliders that were in
contention for the title sold that already meet much the original design
criteria. If these models were all lumped together with the existing PW5
gliders the potential is there for a successful competition class to yet
emerge.... Call it World Class or whatever you like but stick with the
gliders already produced and there is no need to go through the process
another time only to end up with the same dismal results.
There is no need to start including Grob Astirs, Cirrus, LS4 and the likes
of these since they already fit nicely into the Club Class (The USA needs
also to finally adopt the rest of the worlds "Club Class" and "Racing Class"
rather than continuing to disguise Ventus 2's and ASW27's and the likes as
"Sports class" gliders)and there is no reason to start looking for a new
alternative "World Class" design... Simply include the L-33's, SZD solo,
Russia in with the PW5's and let them fight it out in a fair and balanced
contest.....choose your weapon and go into battle..... low cost, lower
performance racing.....easy enough.
tim

--
Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com
,
"Ian Cant" wrote in message
...
Soon we will see a very good 13m glider ....for
$120,000.-only.
And the happy owner will be a World Class Champion.
Was that an original idea behind the World Class?

If I recall correctly, the major aim of the World Class
concept was to make competition soaring more accessible
by keeping the cost down. The lower performance level
and the single-design concepts arose from this aim
[one design to allow mass production and the savings
therefrom]. Unfortunately the masses did not buy the
PW-5.

Perhaps a reasonable class could be built from all
the 13m and below sailplanes that are now around, typically
with 30 or 35:1 L/Ds and easier retrieve characteristics
than bigger ships. A set of rules can be built around
the existing designs without denying entry to newer
and better designs. Contrary to advertised beliefs,
30:1 is plenty for X-C [20:1 is plenty for the 1-26
guys].

But how do we keep the cost under control ? Well,
my only semi-facetious suggestion would be to have
a rule that the top three in any National-level contest
have to offer their ships, fully equipped as flown,
for sale at a fixed price immediately afterwards.
Take $40,000 as a random number. Will anyone really
want to buy a championship with a $60,000 ship if he
has to sell it for $40,000 afterwards ? It would be
snapped up. But the $20,000 ship that wins would probably
not be sellable at $40,000 and the owner could keep
it to fly another day.

As a reference point, the Sparrowhawk is perhaps the
highest performance 13m ship around, and I believe
it still sells for below $40,000. And my aging Russia
would be competitive; it cost me $19,000 new a few
years ago; even with a trailer and flight recorder
and oxygen etc and CA sales tax, it still came in at
well below $25,000.

It could be done. With 60 or so Russias, maybe 50
PW-5s, a growing number of Sparrowhawks and a sprinkling
of Apis and Silents we should have a viable nucleus
of a fleet. And if it works, more people may be enticed
to join in affordable competive soaring.

Ian

Here, Here Tim:

The Club Class has definitely stepped up and filled the performance/
price niche the orginal World Class was meant to fill in the soaring
contest world. Club Class around the world offers some of the most
competitive racing in the world right now, in ships that more pilots
can afford - especially inthe US given the Euro/$ rate now. Every
country in the world offers Club Class racing except the US (and maybe
Canada?). Why are we so stubbornly against the concept, while we still
devote the time and effort to site a World Class Nationals every year?

Yes, some rules makers have said to me : "well look at the Club Class
in Europe, with all of its highly modified Cirruses, etc., that will
just mean pilots will take $20K Cirruses and trick them out for $40K ,
and then where is the affordability?"

I was once of that thought. But after having seen the 3rd French Pilot
in a run-of-the mill Std Cirrus place 3rd at Club Worlds ahead of the
supposedly tricked out Cirrus' the top two French pilots flew, I just
do not think that is much of an issue. There is only so much you can
do with Cirrus, Libelles, etc. And now that the IGC Club Class list is
adding the Discus (and like ships) to the list of ships allowed, the
Club class alows a huge portion of the US fleet of gliders to compete
at a high level again. Isn't that a good thing?

Oh, and even if it takes $40k to trick out and old ship to be fully
competitive, I've still saved a good number 10's of thousands of $'s
with which I can compete at more contests. Isn't the possibility of
increased contest participation a good thing as well?

Others have said to me: "why should I have to purchase an old Libelle
to compete in a contest where I can make the US Team?" And good/great
pilots (often younger) who can only afford crappy gliders or who's
dads don't have a D2 for them to fly should have to buy $100k new
ships to compete on an even palying field in the only handicapped
class the US offers pilots?

The concept of the US Sports Natioanls has outlived its usefullness -
other than to offer pilots more options of flying a nationals each
year. If I own a new ASW-15 meter ship, my nationals should be the 15
meter class. If I own a Schempp-Std Class glider my nationals should
be Stds Nationals. If I own a whatever-Open Class ship, I might be
clamoring for a handicapped Open Class to attract more ships to that
nationals since Sports Class does not cater to me at all. etc. But if
I own a Libelle, or Elfe, or whatever older ship, I am S.O.L. for my
own Nationals.

The current Sports Class Nationals has become a joke for entry level
racing here in the US - unless you can afford to buy a brand new ship
and start racing it as a newbie, OR you can find a glider that has not
been raced in the last 20-30 years and has an overly generous handicap
so you can try and "work" the current system. Otherwise, you need to
depend on a lot of luck fromt he weather gods and superior pilot
skills to have any hope of winning.

Instead Sports Class has become just another "option" for pilots of
the latest and best ships. Many pilots I am sure say: "Well, I own an
ASW-50, my nationals is in XXX. I don't like XXX, but Sports Nationals
is in a place I do like... I might as well just fly Sports Nats and
maybe even pick up a high nationals placing since the tasking is,
after all, more and more set up for ships like mine because that is
(mostly) who goes to it anymore."

Keep the Sports Class at the regional level - its fun to race agaisnt
others outside of your class and to learn in, BUT give US pilots their
own Club Class Nationals like everyone else in the world has!

Let the World Class, as a separate nationals, die quietly and maybe
set up an A and B Club Class Nationals system and give the US soaring
population a Club Class Nationals to fill the entry level/affordable/
very competitive contest niche.

Tim McAllister EY

On Oct 4, 11:44 am, "Tim Mara" wrote:
What killed the World Class was the World Class.
When the PW5 was awarded the World Class against a lot of opposition to the
design the proponents of the PW5 sat back fielding criticism and smugly
snubbed the others even after it was well apparent that few were going to
get on their band wagon.
Others that contended for the bid to be the world class glider and their
followers were shut out and left with no place to compete. There were other
good design entrants (most thought better than the committee picked PW5) and
rumors of unfair politics deciding on the PW5 clouded the class.
How the PW5 was picked over the other designs remains a topic of some
controversy but it was and it failed to gather the interest of the masses
(it really is homely) but there were however many other gliders that were in
contention for the title sold that already meet much the original design
criteria. If these models were all lumped together with the existing PW5
gliders the potential is there for a successful competition class to yet
emerge.... Call it World Class or whatever you like but stick with the
gliders already produced and there is no need to go through the process
another time only to end up with the same dismal results.
There is no need to start including Grob Astirs, Cirrus, LS4 and the likes
of these since they already fit nicely into the Club Class (The USA needs
also to finally adopt the rest of the worlds "Club Class" and "Racing Class"
rather than continuing to disguise Ventus 2's and ASW27's and the likes as
"Sports class" gliders)and there is no reason to start looking for a new
alternative "World Class" design... Simply include the L-33's, SZD solo,
Russia in with the PW5's and let them fight it out in a fair and balanced
contest.....choose your weapon and go into battle..... low cost, lower
performance racing.....easy enough.
tim

On Oct 6, 4:10 am, Tim wrote:
Yes, some rules makers have said to me : "well look at the Club Class
in Europe, with all of its highly modified Cirruses, etc., that will
just mean pilots will take $20K Cirruses and trick them out for $40K ,
and then where is the affordability?"

Really nobody "tricks out" their gliders. Everybody seals their
glider properly but that doesn't cost much. If you add winglets (~
$2,000) or wing-root fillets (which probably don't work unless you've
done wind tunnel time) you get extra handicap, so it doesn't make any
difference, and so pilots don't bother.

Certainly nobody is spending tens of thousands of dollars, not even
close.


Dan